


The Final Battle

by thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey



Series: The Red Paladin's Double [13]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9460286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey/pseuds/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey
Summary: Ok, last part. Hang in there. Thank you to all of the people who read from fanfic one, I love you guys!





	1. Growing Up

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, last part. Hang in there. Thank you to all of the people who read from fanfic one, I love you guys!

“A long time ago there was a tyrant. This tyrant was a terrible ruler, but he was powerful and the son of the last king, so no one objected. One day he was supervising in a mine where his people were working. One of them shouted in excitement and he went to him. But the man had found something very powerful, which gave him powers like not even the Alteans had. He slew the tyrant and the people made him their king. The crown passed on down until it reached to the leader before me. And now to me.”  
            “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. You’re a princess?” Shiana exhaled.

            “No, Lance. It doesn’t work that way. I was not royalty until now. You see, when the king turns fifty, all children born in that year are watched carefully. Those who show excellent leadership qualities as well as compassion, mercy, and wisdom are singled out and then from among those the one who is the most powerful is chosen. Power comes last. When they turn ten, they receive a ceremony that gives them a shard of the original gem, the one of that kingdom, for it was split to form several countries, increasing their power. When the leader dies, they take over, and the cycle re-begins. But they are not specially treated until then. The point is to see them with their natural skills. Shang always complained that if he’d been _one_ year younger…” Keith brushed against her lightly and felt a brief moment of mental contact. A seven-year-old Shang pouting on the floor because his mom told him, no, he couldn’t grow up to be the leader of the country. She smiled.

            “But… What are you going to do? Your people aren’t here! Well, except for the one guy that came. But the rest of them are in captivity!” She smiled a smile that made Lance fear for the Galra in her path.

            “I think it’s about time we freed the slaves.”

            “We can only help you oh-so far. We need a lot of people here to rebuild what the Galra and the ghosts destroyed. You’ll have to rely on the power of the lions after that.” The corridors were bustling with people, all readying to help them. They had determined that all of the Neconians were on one slave ship. They would have to get in, free them, and then use an escape ship to get out, which was Shiana and Keith’s part. They would then return to the castle to get the red lion, at which point they could destroy the whole thing. In-and-out. Very simple. No tiny complications to hold them up. The Blade of Marmora had already said no, they would not be helping in this operation, thank you, they were on their own. With Bandore’s help, of course.

            Shiana sat up, gasping, heart furiously beating. Nightmare. A bad one. This was why she’d kept herself from going to sleep, for this exact reason. She slipped out of her bed and padded out to the navigation deck, telling herself that Keith didn’t need to wake up for this. Shiro was there, staring at the stars. She slipped up next to him.

            “Trouble sleeping?” He nodded curtly.

            “It’s just… before now we could always count on the people on the planet that weren’t slaves to help, but now there is nowhere to run if we need to without endangering the people. I’m worried that something will happen to you and Keith, and we won’t be there to help.” Shiana put a hand on his shoulder.

            “Everything will be fine. We’ll be fine.” He looked at her, concerned.

            “You know I care about both you and Keith, right? And the rest of the team, but the lions will be there to keep them safe. I don’t want anything to happen to either of you. If it did, I would _never_ be able to forgive myself. You understand?” She smiled gently, comfortingly.

            “I know. Shiro, I love you like a dad, you know that?” He nodded. “Why would I put you through the pain of losing a child?” She hugged him. “Now get some sleep.” He smiled tiredly and nodded. She wandered back to her room. Keith was waiting for her, shaking like a leaf.

            “Oh, no, what’s wrong?”

            “I shot Shiro.” He was bone white and looked a little nauseous. She sat him down on her bed and sat down cross-legged next to him.

            “How bad?”

            “Really bad. I… they put a gun in my hand and told me if I didn’t shoot one of you they’d shoot all of you.” No need to ask who _they_ were. He leaned into her, and she leaned back.

            “And… I wasn’t sure. The emotional, headstrong part of me told me to shoot the Galra, no matter what happened. The logical part of me told me to shoot you, because I could still fly the red lion. But one other part of me told me what Shiro would want. To shoot him to give the rest of you a chance. So I did.” She stroked his head gently, remembering how he never let her do pet him as a cat.

            “I had one just like that,” she whispered.

            “Really? Who… Who did you pick?”

            “The lives of my people were also at stake. They told me it was my first decision as queen. A mockery of my position.”

            “Who did you shoot?” She smiled gently at him.

            “Maybe I’ll tell you later. I don’t think I should at this point. I don’t want to give you more nightmares. Maybe I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

 

 


	2. Long Live the Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i'm writing this, and I realize, I'm am ending this at episode thirteen. Thirteen. I am a demon disguised by grumpiness wrapped in a blue jacket

            BOOM! The ship was panicked, Galra running everywhere. No one noticed the slightly-too-small Galra taking a Neconian slave back to the cell.  
“What do you think you’re doing?” Keith flinched and froze.  
“Taking an escapee back to the cell Sir! Repid sa!” The guard nodded, satisfied. They walked on.  
“I think the Repid sa was a bit overkill.”  
“Why? He ate it up!”  
“Total and complete overkill.”  
“Hey, I have a gun. Don’t cross me.” The door to the holding cell hissed open. All the slaves looked up and Keith pulled off the helmet, locking the door behind them so no one could get in, but they could get out. Dead silence fell over the captives, and then,  
“Shiana? Shiana!” Shang rushed over and enveloped her in a hug, lifting the petite girl off her feet. Moments later her mother struggled up to them and enjoyed the hug as well. Keith watched with a tiny, bittersweet smile on his face. He wished he could have something like this. Shiana’s mother opened an arm and beckoned him. He came closer and she pulled him into the hug as well.  
“Thank you,” she whispered, “for keeping my daughter safe. Thank you. Thank you forever and always.” A throat cleared behind them.  
“Excuse me. As touching as this is, we need to get out of here before the Galra come for us.” An old man was standing behind them. Shiana extracted herself from the hug, as did Keith.  
“Of course. My people!” She turned to the crowd. “I am your new leader! I know I am still young, but I hope that the rest of you will join me. Follow and I will lead you out of here!”  
“And why should we? You abandoned us!” Shang and Keith both growled and moved towards the man who had spoken. Shiana put her hands out to stop them.  
“No, he’s right. I know I left you. I know that I ran away. Yes, I ran away. I was scared. I was scared of what would happen when our good leader died, so I ran. I ran from responsibility like a child, and I know that was wrong, but joining Voltron showed me my place in this war, for it is war. My place is not flying the red lion, not fighting on the planet below, not predicting Galra moves before they happened, not even strengthening diplomatic relations, but to be here. Leading my people. Ruling justly and supporting them that way. I’m done running. I’m here now and now is when we will take back our freedom. So accept me or not, I’m getting all of you out of here.” She finished, and the crowd went silent. Then, with shaking hands, the old man pulled a circlet out of the bag on his back.  
“I kept it. I kept it safe for our queen. It is terrible that the jewel is lost, however. You will be our last queen.” Shiana smiled mischievously, the twinkle back in her eye.  
“Who said it was lost?” She stroked the necklace around her throat and it popped open, a small, brightly glowing jewel tumbling into her hand. She placed the jewel in the dead center of the circlet, which had an empty spot for it. She knelt on the ground. The old man lifted up the circlet and placed it on Shiana’s head.  
“I proclaim you, Shiana, to be the true queen of Neco! Rule wisely.” One person shouted, from the back,  
“Long live the queen!” The cry started around the cell as Shiana stood up, eyes shining.  
“Long live the queen! Long live the queen! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!”


	3. Saying Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could have ended this in episode eleven. but if i'm going to end this, I'm going to burn it.

“Watch your step, it’s narrow here.” Shiana led a single-file line along the narrow walk. She had been setting explosives as they went, timing them to blow five minutes after they reached the ship. A child fell over the edge, and, without thinking, Shiana jumped after her. The old man sighed.

            “The young ones go so fast.” There was a stuttering noise, and Shiana appeared, holding the little girl. There was a collective, but hushed, cheer from the people. She tossed the child to Keith, who caught her and set her down gently on her feet. Then her boots stuttered. They failed, before they gave one last heave. She waved her arms and let out a strangled yell as she sailed upwards, barely getting shoved up into the beam, arms and up on, the rest of her dangling. She hauled herself up.

            “Oof.”

            “Our noble and majestic queen,” remarked Shang dryly, “An inspiration to us all.”

            “If I didn’t have to be a disciplined ruler right now…” Shang grinned.

            “I know. You’d smack me. That’s why I said it now.” She rolled her eyes and resumed being queenly. They reached the escape ship, and they started to load into it. Major hole in their plan. It wasn’t charged up. Shiana let Keith and Shang take over the loading and charged her gloves. She plugged them into the ship giving it energy.

            “Shiana! We have to go! Everybody is loaded, and those bombs are going to go off any moment now!” Shiana looked at the battery. 50%. They would never make it.

            “Okay!” She left the outlet and followed Keith and Shang to the ship.

            Keith turned to help Shiana into the ship and she shoved something into his hand before closing the door.

            “What… Shiana!”

            “I’m sorry, Keith, I really am. But you’ll never make it.” Shang pounded on the glass with all his might, as did Keith, but they couldn’t get the doors open. She checked her watch. Not enough time to charge it. Unless… She put on her mask and pressed the launch button.

            “It was me, Keith.” Keith pounded on the doors, sobbing, as he watched her suck all the electricity out of the lights, everything that wasn’t connected to the launch.

            “I shot myself. Their orders were to kill a paladin, and I followed it to the letter.” His fist stopped pounding and his palm pressed the glass. She raised her hands, cackling with so much electricity he could see the gloves looking like they were about to melt on her hands.

            “The dream dissolved into chaos. My people rebelled, all of you fought back. My death ensured all of your lives.” She brought her hands down to the floor and sent electricity cackling down the metal surface, lights bursting, the ship charging to 100% as it blasted away, Shiana smiling, but crying at the same time as she waved, getting farther and farther away.

            “Tell Shiro and Shang I’m sorry. Tell them I didn’t mean for this to happen.” And finally, words whispered softly, “I love you Keith, my brother.” And the ship exploded. The shockwave sent the ship hurtling forward and they got away from the battle. Keith slumped down to the floor as Shang screamed and the Neconians started a mourning song. He opened his hand, seeing what Shiana had given him. Her sun pendant. And he realized, looking out the window, the explosion had blocked the sun. Shiana’s explosion of love, love for him, for the other paladins, for her people, for the universe, had eclipsed the sun itself.

 


	4. Three Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is kind of after the war, so I'm not going to continue it.

Keith sat by himself, looking at the stars, fingering a small sun, surrounded by a moon. The moon had been from Coran. It had been his sister’s, given to him for safety. She hadn’t even known. And it had found its other half. He wished he could find his other half. His sister. Bandore had agreed to let the Neconians stay until they could find a better planet, and they were quite happy. Aside from the loss of their queen.

            “Hey, man, come join the party! We deserve some celebrating!” Lance dropped down next to him.

            “Why?”

            “Uh, hello? Castle to Keith?” He knocked on Keith’s forehead. Keith pushed his hand away. He didn’t shy away from physical contact with his teammates anymore, but that didn’t mean he was going to let Lance knock on his head.

            “We saved the day! Zarkon and Lotor are gone, the empire is ended, and we all survived it!”

            “Not everyone survived,” Keith remarked softly, fingering the pendant, “Some didn’t make it.” Lance’s gaze followed Keith’s fingers and his gaze softened.

            “You miss her.” Keith nodded. “I do too. I know we didn’t have that same bond, but I feel kind of empty too, in that space where she was. I wish she could be here.” He stood up and patted Keith on the shoulder.

            “But you know what she would say? She would say, ‘Keith, go be with people and talk about your problems. It really does help.’ Don’t stay out here forever, ‘kay?” Keith nodded and Lance patted him on the shoulder again before rejoining the party. Keith kept fingering the necklace, looking at the now free stars. There was a soft click and he looked down at the pendant. A crack had appeared. Frowning, he used his fingers to pry open the necklace. A small box with a button tumbled out. A one-way com.

            Heart beating frantically, Keith pressed the button and it started to beep at him. He started to hope beyond hope for a miracle.

            _Whizz-clump._ She pulled off her newer metal hand and bent down to take off her foot with a sigh. She rubbed her head, which still ached sometimes when there was a bright light. A small beeping emanated from a tiny box in the corner, one she had almost given up on. A nervous voice projected out of it. A voice she hadn’t heard in three years.

            “Uh, Shiana? Are you there?” She smiled. Not loud enough for the other end to hear she said softly,

            “Well, it’s about time, alien boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Shiro dies, it ruins half of the effect of this chapter, so he better not die.

**Author's Note:**

> So, that's it. That's the end of my fanfic. All done. If I get bored, I might write a spin off of what happened to Buzz and Zan, but that's probably it. Maybe I'll write for a different fandom, but this is probably it.


End file.
